The UK is the world leader in wave energy and a number of different systems are in development, chiefly in Scotland.
Wavegen Ltd installed the world’s first commercial-scale wave power generator in 2001 on the Island of Islay. An on-shore design, waves traveling up a beach were used to compress air inside an oscillating water column, thereby turning a turbine. A larger development of this machine is now being tested in the Faroe Islands.
In 2007, the UK government gave planning approval for the world’s first large scale wave farm off the coast of Cornwall in South West England. The project, dubbed Wave Hub, is a world first and will include an onshore substation connected to electrical equipment on the seabed about 16 kilometres (10 miles) offshore via a sub-sea cable. Wave Hub could generate enough electricity for 7,500 homes, directly saving 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over 25 years.
The world’s first purpose built wave power evaluation centre was opened on the island of Orkney in Scotland in 2006. It consists of a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney mainland and a tidal power testing station on the island of Eday, located nearby.
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